Art in Iraq Today by Charles Pocock

94 Essay The reason for the Project – Art In Iraq Today By Charles Pocock a series of exhibitions displaying the work of a group of contemporary Iraqi artists. We knew that the project would be a critical success, though not necessarily a commercial one, but we both believed that it was essential, not just for Iraq but also for the entire region. Two months later, in his critique of Col. Qais Hussein’s report surveying Baghdad’s explosions, Anthony Shadid of the New York Times noted that the house of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (b. Bethlehem, 1919-1994) had been destroyed along with all his papers. ‘Jabra’s house represented something far greater that has been lost,’ Shadid writes, ‘To some, its destruction serves as an epitaph of sorts, the end of eras in Iraq and the Arab world and the eclipse, in war and strife, of the ideal he represented.1 It was then that we decided to dedicate the project to the memory of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra and his seminal essays about modern Iraqi art, titled ‘Art in Iraq Today’ (1961) and ‘Iraq Art Today’ (1972). The exhibition series and corresponding publication, Art Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, Baghdad, 1970s. in Iraq Today, thus marks the fiftieth anniversary of Jabra’s scholarly contribution, which was initiated in a I am often asked why we chose the title “Art in Iraq different era, when Iraq was a very different country. Today” for the book and exhibition series when the Modern Iraqi art represents one of the main foundation artists discussed are now part of the Iraqi diaspora and stones of modern Arab culture and by proxy, modern their recent work, exhibited at our Gallery, is more Middle Eastern culture. As with Iran, modern and an outcome of their experiences as expatriates than a contemporary culture in Iraq draws heavily on its rich reflection of what art in Iraq is today. One of the major pre-Islamic and Islamic heritage, from ancient times aims of this project was to highlight the enduring talent that brought us the Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and of contemporary Iraqi artists despite the circumstances Abbasid civilizations through to Ottoman Baghdad, the that have forced them to relocate to various parts Iraq of the “Baath” party, and today an Iraq that has of the globe. Seeing that the artists discussed in this been ravaged by foreign invasion. publication spent their formative years in Iraq, and In November 2010, during the lecture organized in have been profoundly shaped by such experiences, their conjunction with TDIC and NYU Abu Dhabi Institute work carries within it, along with their experience of during the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, Nada Shabout, Shiva exile, traces of what contemporary art in Iraq might Balaghi, Dia Al-Azzawi and Parviz Tanavoli spoke have been today. Art in Iraq Today should therefore be about the artistic life of Iraq and Iran, the similarities of seen as more emblematic than literal in its message. The how both cultures are defined was identified. Though title also needs to be understood in the context of the completely distinct from each other in many ways, each project’s inception, which is specifically linked to the nation mirrored events that formed the independent writing of pre-eminent art critic Jabra Ibrahim Jabra. cultures of each country - through to the present day In March 2010, Dia Al-Azzawi and I discussed running Essay 95 Jewad Selim, Atta Sabri, Hafidh Al-Droubi and others,Baghdad, 1940s. with the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam the subsequent decades include the Impressionists (Al Hussein - their demise and in the case of Iraq, the Intiba’ieen), Innovationists (Jama’at al-Mujadidine), disintegration of the cultural fabric of its society. and New Vision Group (al-Ru’yya al-Jadidah), who In the 1970s, Iraq, specifically Baghdad, was at the were predominately responsible for encouraging a pan- centre of a pan-Arab art movement. The country’s art Arab focus, and the Al Wasiti Festival, which in turn scene and exhibitions, such as the 1971 One Dimension led to the launch of the Union of Arab Plastic Artists.4 Group show, were bolstered by the highly influential During the late-1960s, a number of Iraqi artists began Al Wasiti Festival held in 1972.2 A year later, the First to exhibit their work outside of the country, with Al- Congress of Arab Artists was held, followed by the Nasiri and Al-Azzawi exhibiting at Gallery One in First Arab Biennial in 1974. Prominent artists, who Beirut,5 followed by shows in Kuwait in 1969 at the contributed and encouraged such collectives included Sultan Gallery. It was the Al Wasiti Festival, however, Shakir Hassan Al Said, Dia Al-Azzawi, Rafa Al-Nasiri, that had the greatest impact on the artistic scene, both Ismail Fattah and Kadhem Hayder. The artists of this locally and internationally, since it brought together generation had followed what had been established by artists from across the Arab world including Mohamed Faiq Hassan in the 1950s with the Pioneers Group Melehi, Mohammed Al-Qasmi and Mohammed (Al Ruwad ) and developed further, and in a different Chabia, from Morocco, Al-Hadi Al-Turki from Tunis, direction, by Jewad Selim and his formation of the Araf Al-Rays and Amine Al-Basha from Lebanon, and Baghdad Group of Modern Art (Jama’at Baghdad lili Al-Bahjory from Egypt. This added a new dimension Fen al-Hadith).2 Further artistic groups formulated in to modern Arab art, reinforcing a commitment to pan- 96 Essay as ‘The Grass Roots of Iraqi Art’ (1983). During the late 1970s and early 1980s, it became clear to many artists that the art movement, that had originally developed organically and free of political intervention from the 1950s, was becoming a political tool of propaganda for the mandarins of the Baath party. Forced to work within the parameters set by the government in state funded shows – the Party Exhibition replaced the previously established Iraqi Artist Society annual exhibitions - because of the supremacy of the one-party state, a number of leading artists decided to leave Iraq for Europe and North America. In a milieu where the Iran-Iraq war pervaded every aspect of daily life, the government became the only dominant patron of the arts . Monuments such as the Unknown Soldier (1982) by Khalid Al-Rahhal, The Martyr’s Faiq Hassan, Baghdad, 1960s. Monument (1983) by Ismail Fattah7 and The Victory Arch (1989), initiated by Al-Rahhal and completed by Mohamed Ghani, dominated the cultural program of the1980s. The vibrant, intellectual approach to art in the previous decades became increasingly overpowered by the pressure to promote a political message, which resulted, in 1986, in the replacement of the National Museum of Modern Art with the Saddam Arts Centre, demonstrating the complete domination of the state over the arts. The Iran-Iraq War was quickly followed by the invasion of Kuwait and the resulting sanctions imposed on Iraq by the United Nations. Creative expression posed an even greater challenge, and it became extremely difficult for artists to earn a living within the country, forcing many to emigrate. Even so, artists such as Ghassan Ghaib, Ali Jabbar, Hanaa Malallah, Mahmoud Obaidi, Mahmoud Sabri, Baghdad, 1950s. Kareem Risan and Nazar Yahya remained in Iraq, and Arabism. International exposure was enhanced further in 1992 the last real artistic manifesto was created with exhibitions of Iraqi art in London at the Patrick under the name Baghdad Group (Jama’at Baghdad).8 Seale Gallery, Casablanca at Galerie Nadhar, Paris at Devastation of the country deepened following the Galerie Faris and Geneva at Galerie Central. In the 2003 US invasion, resulting in the downfall of the 1970s, many artists began to focus on different media Baath party and the execution by hanging of Saddam such as printmaking—under a movement known as Hussein, making it impossible for artists to continue the Graphics Movement—and ceramics.6 A number of working or remain in the country. groundbreaking publications were also released during The recent years of occupation have led to the obliteration the 1960s, including the critiques of Jabra Ibrahim of the modern and contemporary arts movements Jabra, up until the early 1980s. Notable texts by the in Iraq. The Saddam Arts Centre was looted, and the critic include his 1961 and 1972 Iraqi art essays, as well collections held in the villas of art patrons completely Essay 97 Dia Al-Az z awi, Ismail Fattah and Rafa Al-N asiri, Baghdad, 1960s. ransacked. In April 2003, all records and officially is reflected in their allusions to the Assyrian reliefs held catalogues were decimated during the destruction in Nineveh, the Maqamat Al Hariri by Yahya ibn of the National Art Library, and in March 2007, Al Mahmud Al-Wasiti,10 and the works of Faiq Hassan Mutannabi Street, the home of Baghdad’s booksellers, and Jewad Selim. Indeed, the return of the Iraqi was destroyed.9 Pavilion, ‘Aqua Ferita’ (Wounded Water), this year at Today, a new generation of Iraqi artists, now part of the Fifty-forth Venice Biennale (2011), which includes the diaspora, is receiving much deserved international the work of Adel Abidin, Ahmed Alsoudani, Ali Assaf, acclaim. This includes Jananne Al-Ani, Adel Abidin, Azad Nanakeli, Halim Al-Karim and Walid Siti, Halim Al-Karim, Wafaa Bilal and Nedim Kufi; their demonstrates the resolute spirit of Iraqi art and artists. works are held amongst major collections in Europe, After thirty-five years of absence from Venice, and North America and the Middle East. Their oeuvres thirty years from the international art world, Iraqi art comprise photography and video installation and is is returning in force as a unified body.

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